To which this man replied: "We all are, it is something about being an artist."
Being an artist. Writing is an art that marries the creative and the analytical in an odd mixture of things most artists would not assume go together. With painting you certainly start with learning logic, but when I did the most painting in my youth, all those rules had already left an impression on my mind and things like shading came second nature in paintings, sketches. Only minor tweaks were needed after the painting was done.
With writing, no matter how many years you've been at it, no matter how deep into the subconscious the writing rules have imprinted, the rough draft is always a mess.
Granted, the writing of it is the easy part. The hard part, in my experience, has been revising the rough draft and polishing it into the book it was meant to be. The analytical aspect to writing a book is definitely that second step.
It is easiest to make mistakes in this step. It is easy for the story to transform outside its narrow bounds and become a different tale all together, or to branch off into a series. My tendency to over-think has hindered many drafts, and kept me working on them for years and years.
The perception of writing a book is that the writing of it is the hardest and most time-consuming part. Perhaps, fore some writers, this is a true statement. But certainly, for me, the writing is easy and the revising is hard. And the lesson?
My guy is often fond of telling me when--in any number of areas in my life--a simple idea inflates to a full fledged enterprise, complete with steps and long term goals: "Drea, the K.I.S.S. method. Don't get ahead of yourself."
But I'm so good at it! And Keeping It Simple... in any fashion orb form is exceedingly difficult. Thanks to nano, however, I think I can start charting the path through those woods.
So what step of writing a book is hardest for you?
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